Chapter 69: Genius Writer vs. Genius Actor (7)
While eating, the three shared many stories.
Jung Se-yeon mentioned that since she and Kim Si-woo already had matching outfits for this awards ceremony, they would walk in together. In response, Si-woo told her that she could start preparing for the next project.
“You’re already ready?”
“I sent you the script by email. Check it and let me know.”
“Yes!”
He almost mentioned that Park Woong-deok would likely be directing the next film, but since nothing was confirmed yet, he chose not to bring it up.
Meanwhile, hearing that Si-woo had written a script specifically for Jung Se-yeon, Shim Ji-young looked at them enviously and spoke.
“What about me? When are you going to call me again?”
“You can’t. You’re the competition.”
“What? Hey, it’s been ages since the movie ended—”
“Anyway, no roles for anyone on Choi Do-hyun’s side.”
“Are you seriously going to be petty too?”
Shim Ji-young grumbled at him, but Si-woo—his mind already made up—accepted her complaining with a smile while never once saying he would cast her.
Later, when Shim Ji-young and Jung Se-yeon heard exactly what Si-woo planned to do at the awards ceremony, they could only shake their heads.
Time passed, and soon, the day of the awards ceremony arrived.
As promised, Kim Si-woo and Jung Se-yeon stepped out of the same limousine, walking the red carpet together and entering the venue.
“Ugh… crowds are always so uncomfortable…”
Si-woo frowned deeply, looking uneasy.
“Drink some water.”
“Thanks.”
He took the bottle of water Jung Se-yeon handed him.
“But… you’re really going to do it?”
“Yes.”
“Haa… men, honestly…”
Jung Se-yeon looked at him like he was a mischievous child. Before the ceremony began, several people started gathering around Si-woo.
Among them was Park Woong-deok, who had said he might direct the next film. He approached immediately and spoke.
“Oh! Writer Kim. I read the script. Definitely not my style, but I’ll take the director spot.”
“Ah… yes. Thank you.”
“Well, my wife keeps nagging me to make something that earns money… I was planning to take a year off too…”
Hearing that Park Woong-deok was married, Si-woo showed a startled expression.
‘Director… you’re married…’
Park Woong-deok continued complaining—he had ruined many projects before, spent too much money on drinking, and now his wife was scolding him nonstop.
“Hahaha…”
Hearing all this, Jung Se-yeon’s expression brightened.
“Really? Director Park Woong-deok is taking the new movie?”
“Yes… that’s how it turned out.”
As Si-woo, Se-yeon, and Park Woong-deok chatted about the upcoming film, the two hosts of the ceremony stepped onto the stage.
“We will now begin the 60th Taesan Arts Awards.”
As the host’s voice echoed through the microphone, loud applause filled the hall from actors and staff members.
The order of the ceremony wasn’t much different from the previous ones.
Predictably, the nominations were dominated by Revenge and Don’t Forget.
Before the actors’ categories, Si-woo received the Best Screenplay award and, just like the last ceremony, simply gave a short thank-you speech before returning to his seat.
Seeing him do nothing dramatic despite what he said over dinner, Shim Ji-young spoke to him curiously.
“What was that? You didn’t do anything.”
“Well… I started thinking maybe it wasn’t the right time.”
“Good. You made the right choice.”
But Si-woo’s words didn’t mean what she thought they meant.
Time passed as Kim Ji-hyun, Jung Se-yeon, Park Woong-deok, Kim Min-ho, and others received their awards.
Now only two remained: Best Picture and Grand Prize (Daesang).
“The Best Picture, Film Division, goes to… Don’t Forget. Congratulations.”
As the film was announced, Park Woong-deok and Kim Si-woo walked up to the stage.
After receiving the trophy, Park Woong-deok gave his thanks first, then stepped aside for Si-woo to take the mic.
“Ahem… this is Kim Si-woo, back on stage again. Since I already gave my thanks earlier, I’ll talk about something else this time.”
His cheerful expression hardened, and he began speaking with a serious tone.
“In truth, no one knows better than me that I didn’t come this far through my own strength alone. So I could accept people belittling me. But belittling the actors who trusted my script and gave their best… that was something I truly couldn’t tolerate.”
Although he spoke politely, it was absolutely not the kind of topic one should bring up at an awards ceremony.
Yet Kim Si-woo continued unwaveringly, and the audience listened closely.
“He isn’t here today, but I’m sure he’ll see this. So let me say one thing. Look forward to it. I’ve prepared a lot of presents. Thank you.”
Anyone could tell it was a direct warning aimed at Choi Do-hyun.
After finishing his speech, Si-woo stepped down from the stage—only for Shim Ji-young to slap his shoulder and scold him.
“Hey! Are you insane? This is an awards ceremony! You said earlier it wasn’t the right moment—so THIS is what you meant? You wanted to save it for a bigger award?!”
Only now did she realize what Si-woo meant earlier when he said it “didn’t feel right” to speak during the Best Screenplay award.
He didn’t mean It was inappropriate to speak—he meant it was more impactful to do it during the Best Picture award.
“What do you mean… this is just the beginning.”
“What? There’s MORE?”
“Actually, I also filmed a variety show. I openly attacked him there too.”
“Oh my god…”
Shim Ji-young clutched her head and pretended to collapse, realizing Si-woo had no intention of stopping.
“No, no, you can’t faint. You’re about to receive the Grand Prize, and if you collapse I’ll have to go up there and accept it—and then who knows what I’ll say.”
“That can’t happen… who knows what madness you’d spew…”
Hearing she had to receive the Grand Prize, Shim Ji-young snapped back to reality.
A little later, just as expected, Shim Ji-young went onstage to receive the Daesang (Grand Prize) for the film division.
After her long acceptance speech, the ceremony came to a close.
During that time, people near Si-woo asked what the “gift” he mentioned was, but he only said they’d find out soon enough.
When the ceremony ended, the after-party naturally began.
The after-party was filled with not only the attendees but also many influential celebrities who’d come to network.
And the most popular person there, unsurprisingly, was Kim Si-woo.
He was a famous writer with enormous influence—actors flocked to writers just as much as to directors.
“Writer-nim! Do you like drinking?”
A female actress he didn’t recognize approached him, reeking of alcohol.
“Ah… no, I’m fine.”
“Oh, don’t be like that~ have a drink with me.”
The actress clung to his arm flirtatiously, offering him a glass of alcohol.
“I like drinking. How about it? Want to drink with me instead?”
Shim Ji-young suddenly intercepted the glass and downed it in one gulp.
“H-hello, sunbae…”
“Sorry, but if you’re not going to drink, could you step aside? I need to talk with Writer Kim.”
“Yes, sunbae.”
The intimidating force of a 20-year veteran actress was terrifying.
Just moments ago, the tipsy actress was slurring her words—now she answered clearly and disappeared instantly.
And that intimidation turned toward Si-woo.
“Hey, what exactly are you trying to do? Planning some media warfare?”
“No. That sounds too tiring.”
“He must have a plan. Right, Writer-nim?”
Jung Se-yeon suddenly appeared beside them, siding with Si-woo.
“Hey, Se-yeon! Don’t encourage him. I’m already stressed out enough.”
“I’ll handle everything, Actress Shim. So don’t worry too much. But when you see Choi Do-hyun—please tell him a gift is waiting.”
Shim Ji-young absolutely did not feel reassured by that.
“More importantly, I came here to network… but thanks to you two, no one is approaching me. And this many people around me is suffocating.”
“What? That’s not my fault! It’s because Se-yeon is next to you!”
“Fine, then it’s both of your faults. So help me out.”
At Si-woo’s request, both actresses looked confused.
“What do you want us to do?”
“Spread a rumor.”
“What rumor?”
“The rumor that anyone associated with Choi Do-hyun will never appear in a Kim Si-woo project again.”
“What? Why would you spread something like that? What about your image?”
“Most people already think this whole mess started because of Choi Do-hyun. And if my image gets a bit worse… that means I’ll be writing scripts exclusively for you. Isn’t that good for you, noona?”
“Oh? Now that you say that… yeah, it is good. I’m going to spread it!”
“Wait for me, unnie! Writer-nim, see you later.”
“Yes, take care.”
And so, that night, two actresses and one writer went around the after-party, spreading the rumor everywhere.
***
The next afternoon, when Kim Si-woo woke up and checked the articles and YouTube videos about him, a smile slowly formed on his lips.
‘Looks like I’ve gathered enough firewood… now I just need to light the match.’
As expected, every post related to Kim Si-woo was filled with malicious comments, presumed to be from Choi Do-hyun’s fans.
The backlash even spilled into Si-woo’s YouTube channel.
Some critics and commentators also uploaded videos or articles criticizing his awards ceremony speech.
But Kim Si-woo didn’t care at all.
He allowed criticism,
But slander would be dealt with through the power of the law.
He called Lee Hae-soo to explain the situation and request her assistance, but she had already seen everything.
— I saw the articles and videos yesterday.
“Ah… hahaha. Sorry to bother you.”
— No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about this side. Just focus on your own work, Si-woo.
“Thank you.”
— But once this is over, let’s go have fun together again. Not a movie this time—something else.
“I’d like that.”
After entrusting the malicious commenters to Lee Hae-soo, Kim Si-woo began calling people to prepare for his next movie.
Lead actress: Jung Se-yeon
Director: Park Woong-deok
Writer: Kim Si-woo
With these three alone, the movie was practically guaranteed to be a hit.
He made the necessary calls, and they agreed to gather at the Si-woo Film office three days later.
It was only a small meeting between Park Woong-deok, Jung Se-yeon, and Kim Si-woo—
But the resulting impact would be anything but small.
Three days passed, and the meeting day arrived.
Right on time, Jung Se-yeon arrived first, followed shortly by Park Woong-deok.
“Oh! So this is Writer Kim’s office? It’s smaller than I thought. Feels suffocating.”
Park Woong-deok looked around, teasingly eyeing Si-woo.
“You’re here? This way, please.”
“Oh… Writer Kim, you’ve done well for yourself. You even bought a building already.”
“It’s rented.”
“Hah, I’m joking. Come on, let’s go in.”
Still joking around, Park Woong-deok followed Si-woo into his office.
The three sat down, scripts placed before them, exchanging glances until Si-woo spoke first.
“First, we need to settle which production company and investors to work with, right?”
“Ugh, that’s annoying. How about this—why don’t we start our own production company? Writer Kim. If you do that, investors will come on their own.”
“It’s not as easy as it sounds…”
Film production was on an entirely different level compared to web dramas.
The cost, the manpower—everything was incomparable.
If web dramas were like playing house, movies were like an actual marriage.
“How about this, then?”
With his arms crossed, Park Woong-deok made a proposal.
“I’ll gather trustworthy people. Let’s handle the production ourselves.”
“Can I trust you? Please don’t bring in people from some university club again.”
“Hey! Trust me, Writer Kim.”
He didn’t seem very trustworthy, and Si-woo’s doubtful eyes showed exactly what he thought.
“Anyway, I’ll bring in the production staff. Even if it costs more, hiring skilled professionals is much better.”
“Alright. Then what about actors? Do you have anyone in mind?”
The three began listing actors they’d been considering, diving enthusiastically into casting discussions.
Meanwhile, over at CBS, the variety show episode featuring Kim Si-woo was being uploaded.